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It’s Thursday… wait, what?!? This week has flown by (again). Why is it that the older I get, the faster time seems to go? I don’t know but it seems like every time I blink lately a day, a week, a year has passed without me noticing.

We had a very brief period of Spring weather over the weekend and I managed to run outside. It was freaking ahh-mazing! I have been having some very successful treadmill runs lately that I chalk up to my increased fitness from Crossfit, but I was a little nervous about running outside. History has taught me that my comfort on the treadmill does not always translate when there are elements to contend with outside – wind, cold, heat, hills, sidewalk cracks, you get the idea. I purposefully chose to wait until the weather was gorgeous before venturing out. That way, at least the weather wouldn’t be crapping on me. Turns out, I didn’t need to worry at all. The run was fantastic. I actually found myself able to do little bursts where I picked up the pace for a minute or two, generally until I got distracted and forgot that I was trying to run faster. Speaking of distraction, I actually managed to zone out and “lose” a few blocks of running, which is completely my favorite way of running. I actually zoned back in and was like “Woah, how did I get to the turn around point already?” Now that is what I call a good run.

On Sunday, Rob and I went to a cheesemaking class. Even though Rob basically has zero interest in learning to cook, he is endlessly interested in producing food items. He wants to learn to make cheese and beer and liquor and things like that. I find his interest confusing but I’m never one to discourage any interest he has in food, so for Christmas, I bought him a cheesemaking kit and then I signed him up for this class at the school where I work. The cheesmakers are literally the sweetest people on earth. They come twice a year from Three Shepherds Farm in Vermont to teach these classes. Every time they come I look forward to it.

We made tons of cheese and we ended up taking home more than most because we were the last ones there (I had to lock up). Our mozzarella balls turned into margherita pizza. That is the thing I crave more than anything else when I am trying to eat grain free. And man, did it hit the spot!

We also have a cup or so of quark that I’m planning on making into ice cream. There are 5 (!) rounds of soft-ripened cheese rolled in herbs. I plan on giving some of these away because as much as I love it (tastes a lot like chevre but it’s made out of cow’s milk) I know I can’t eat that much before it goes bad. But a little part of me is sad to part with it. My garage is now home to 3 rounds of feta that are brining. They take 1-2 months, so we’ll see how that turns out.

A funny thing happened this morning. I have a friend that I workout with at Crossfit. I met her there and we are usually pretty well matched both in pace and ability. She is an amazing motivator because she is within reach. This morning I realized she has blown by me in a couple of key areas. Two things that are very challenging for me – pull-ups and double-unders – she has turned into a pro on (seemingly) overnight. I am so excited for her! And it’s putting a little giddy-up in my step. I can’t be lacsidaisical about this anymore!

The time has come for me to officially put into writing my Crossfit goals. I have been at this for about 6 months and there have been some amazing strides, but some things are not coming along as fast as I would like. Hopefully this will give me the benchmark I need to see some serious results. I’ve even included some non-Crossfit goals that are just general fitness things I would like to do in the next year. Iwill do:

1 Double Under on command (not by accident)

A string (5 or more) of Double Unders

Rx Workout with Double Unders in it

1 unassisted Pull Up

Rx Workout with unassisted Pull Ups

A full-depth handstand Push Up

Run a 5k in under 30 minutes

Complete an Olympic distance triathlon

Back Squat 1.5 times my body weight

Bench Press 100 lbs.

Deadlift 1.5 times my body weight

Front Squat my body weight

Fran unassisted

A true Filthy Fifty, Rx

Ground to Shoulder with the 115# Atlas Stone

A Muscle Up on the bar

Learn to Climb the Rope

A 30″ Box jump

An unassisted Ring Dip

Compete in the 2015 Crossfit Open

Somehow just putting all of these down already makes me feel more motivated! I’m ready to get going!!

Happy Friday! I am so ready for this week to end. Tomorrow starts an amazing 3 day weekend. Amazing might be too strong of a word. Pretty good? Yes. Super fun? Yes to that too. Amazing? We’ll see. Last weekend I had zero days to do nothing and since doing nothing is my favorite activity, it was especially troubling. I have purposefully made no plans for Sunday or Monday so Doing Nothing is going to happen.

Saturday should actually be filled with somethings. My mom is finally cashing in on her Christmas gift. I got her tickets to a dance performance at the Kennedy Center. It’s some type of modern Brazilian dance troupe. I don’t really know that much about it. She asked for tickets to a modern dance performance and this was the best I could find. Actually what she asked for was tickets to see “krumping, popping or something like that.” Somebody’s been watching too much So You Think You Can Dance. I jest. I thought it was adorable and was happy to oblige. Except that I have no idea where to go see things like that. So the Kennedy Center will have to do.

In other random news, I got out of work early yesterday so I made a quick detour to Penzey’s. Oh my golly! That store is freaking amazing. Dried spices may not sound all that exciting but I completely nerded out in there. They have some really great spice blends that keep the cooking interesting. They aren’t paying me to say this (although if they want to pay me in spices, I’d be ok with it), I just really love it! Here’s what I bought.

The Sunny Paris and Aleppo (great alternative to crushed red pepper) are staples in my kitchen and I was really just restocking. The other two were new to me. I love that you can smell all of them in the store. The Trinidad is a blend of salt, lemon zest, garlic, cloves and ginger. Holy heck! I was so excited by the smell that I actually busted open the bottle in the car just to try it. And… delicious. As Rob put it, it would be so good anywhere you put garlic. Garlic bread? Why not , lemon garlic bread? I almost could eat it straight out of the bottle. Actually, that’s exactly what I did do, so I guess there’s no almost about it.

I also loved the Tsardust Memories. It is a unique blend of salt, garlic, cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg, and marjoram. Sounds a little strange, tastes great. I made it into meatballs last night for dinner and I cannot tell you how excited I am about the leftovers I brought with me for lunch. <<Happy sigh>>

I ate about 6 of these lettuce wraps. No shame!

Last but not least, here’s an adorable picture of my favorite basenji. What a cutie!

I just found out a coworker had a basenji growing up. Makes me like him even more. Like we now have a special bond!

I just need to talk about Crossfit a little bit. I love to talk about Crossfit and for some reason I never do it on the blog. I don’t know why that is but it needs to change. Crossfit is actually a pretty substantial part of my life right now. I go 4 days a week!

It’s actually the only exercise that I’ve been able to stick to lately. I usually kind of fade out, but so far I’ve been sticking to it. The last few weeks have been a little tough, not for any particular reason, just because for some reason I’ve had other obligations that made it tough to go four times a week. This week I’m back at it. I went four days and honestly if my schedule had allowed it, I would have gone 5 days. I just can’t get enough!

So maybe stupidly, I signed up for a sprint triathlon on June 1. It’s not stupid because I think I can’t do it. It’s stupid because I have no real way of swimming between now and then. Enter Crossfit. I’m hoping that my gained strength is going to carry me through the swimming portion with exactly 0 meters in beforehand. When I say it out loud, it does seem like sort of a dumb idea. Luckily, it’s only a sprint. I just need to get my running and biking back in gear. This weekend is when it begins. My goal is 2 runs per week, 1 bike per week and keeping up with my 4 days of Crossfit. I’ll let you know next week how realistic this is….

So my first teaching gig was a success! I got very nervous right before. They had predicted this big snow storm to hit so I worried that lots of people wouldn’t show up. And then I worried that they would and I would have a full class of people that were looking to me to be the expert. In the end, there was only one no-show and everyone seemed to have a great time, including me. And then I had a whole snow day to recover!

1. Poke a hole in each egg with a pushpin.
2. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Turn down to medium and immediately add eggs. Cook for 6 minutes. Be careful to not let it boil too vigorously or eggs may break.
3. After 6 minutes, remove eggs and put in ice bath. When cool enough to handle, gently peel eggs. They will be soft, but the whites will be set.
4. Whisk remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Add eggs. Make sure eggs a submerged.
5. Let sit for 4-12 hours. After 12 hours, remove from marinade and store covered until ready to use.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 ⁰. 2. Whisk together sugar and butter. Add egg whites in stages, whisking to incorporate between each addition. Whisk until smooth and clump free. 3. Add flour and mix with a spatula. Add sesame seeds and mix to incorporate. 4. Spread evenly and thinly into a circle onto a silpat using an offset spatula. This will work best if you use a plastic stencil. This could be the top of a takeout container. 5. Bake until edges start to brown, approximately 5 minutes. Watch carefully! 6. Pull out of the oven and let sit for 45 seconds. Remove from pan and drape over a glass with a small opening to form the cup shape. If they cool too much while doing this, put back in the oven for 30-60 seconds to soften again. 7. Let cool completely and remove from the cup. Fill with you favorite ice cream or berries.

1. Whisk together the milk and matcha. Heat to a simmer. Turn off the heat. 2. In a separate bowl, whisk together sugar and egg yolks until the yolks lighten in color. 3. While continually whisking the eggs, pour a small amount of hot milk mixture to the eggs to temper the eggs. 4. Add the warmed egg mixture to the milk mixture while whisking vigorously. Put pot on over medium low heat. 5. Stir continually with a wooden spoon. Be careful not to let it boil or burn. When the mixture has thickened slightly and coats the back of a spoon, remove from the heat. 6. Cool mixture over an ice bath. Add to ice cream maker and follow instructions on freezing ice cream.

*Amount of Green Tea Matcha will vary by brand. Use the amount recommended on the package for the amount of milk being used.

1. Heat stock to rolling boil. Add sliced ginger and smashed garlic. Remove stems from mushrooms and add to the pot. Keep stock at a simmer while preparing the rest of the items.
2. Heat 1 T vegetable oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Add boy choy, cut side down. Let sear for 2 minutes until golden. Add 2 T of water, cover and reduce temp to low. Let steam until cooked and slightly wilted, about 3 minutes. Season to taste. Remove from pan and set aside until ready for assembly.
3. Heat pan back up over very high heat. Add 1 T of oil and sliced mushrooms. Let cook with moving until they brown on one side and start to release moisture. Toss and let cook for 1-2 minutes more. The goal is to get them crispy without being dried out. When finished cooking, season with salt and remove from pan. Set aside until ready to assemble.
4. Heat pan back up over medium high heat. Add 1 T of oil and ground chicken. Cook chicken through, breaking it into small pieces with a wooden spoon. When fully cooked, drain off excess oil. Add back to pan and add soy sauce, sambal, minced ginger and minced garlic. Season to taste.
5. Cook ramen according to package instructions.
6. Strain the stock and keep very hot. Adjust seasoning, if necessary.
7. When ready to serve, spoon a heaping tablespoon of the sesame tare into each bowl. Whisk with hot stock. Add noodles, bok choy, mushrooms, egg cut in half, and chicken. Top chicken with chives and add scallions and tomatoes at the last minute. Serve right away.

1. Heat stock to rolling boil. Add sliced ginger, smashed garlic, shrimp shells and seaweed. Remove stems from mushrooms and add to the pot. Keep stock at a simmer while preparing the rest of the items.
2. Lay shrimp on a plate in a single layer, close together. Sprinkle with cayenne and lemon zest. Drizzle with 1 T of oil. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
3. Heat a sauté pan over very high heat. Add 1 T of oil and sliced mushrooms. Let cook with moving until they brown on one side and start to release moisture. Toss and let cook for 1-2 minutes more. The goal is to get them crispy without being dried out. When finished cooking, season with salt and remove from pan. Set aside until ready to assemble.
4. Heat sauté pan to medium heat and add 1 T of oil. Sauté corn until it is golden in spots and begins to pop. Set aside until ready to assemble.
5. Preheat grill pan or outdoor grill to high heat. Brush lightly with oil and grill shrimp about 1-2 minutes per side until just turning pink and opaque. Remove from grill pan and drizzle with lemon juice. Set aside until ready to assemble.
6. Cook ramen according to package instructions.
7. Strain the stock and keep very hot. Adjust seasoning, if necessary.
8. When ready to serve, divide stock among bowls. Add noodles, mushrooms, corn, egg cut in half, and shrimp. Add scallions and bean sprouts and sprinkle with furikake at the last minute. Serve right away.